Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale: a Bifactor-ESEM approach in a youth sample (15-24 years).

BACKGROUND: The Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale is a widely used scale designed to measure general attitudes toward vaccinations. However, evidence for the VAX's structural, convergent, and discriminant validity is still limited, especially in youth samples. METHODS: The present study examined the psychometric multidimensionality and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity of the VAX using the bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling approach (bifactor-ESEM). Using a sample of 803 Serbian adolescents and young adults (Mage = 18.23, SDage = 2.66, age range = 15-24 years, 59.2% female), we contrasted the original four-factor model of the VAX with alternative solutions (ESEM, bifactor-CFA, and bifactor-ESEM), and investigated associations between vaccination attitudes and a variety of external criteria. RESULTS: The results supported the bifactor-ESEM solution with one general factor of vaccination attitudes and four specific factors (Mistrust of vaccine benefit, Worries about unforeseen future effects, Concerns about commercial profiteering, and Preference for natural immunity) as the best representation of the data. The general factor was well-defined, and three specific factors showed good validity and specificity after the general factor was taken into account. The results of convergent validity analyses showed that the general factor of vaccine attitudes and one specific factor (Mistrust of vaccine benefit) were good predictors of vaccine conspiracy beliefs, attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination, intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and trust in healthcare. The remaining three specific factors' contributions to external criteria were generally weak and nonsignificant. Evidence of the discriminant validity of the VAX scores was supported by weak positive associations of the general factor with medical fears and paranoid worry. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings indicate that distinguishing general and specific components of vaccination attitudes offers a more nuanced assessment and understanding of vaccination attitudes.

Validation of L2 grit among Chinese EFL high school students and its enduring effect on achievements: A bifactor model approach.

The current study seeks to validate L2 grit measure among 637 Chinese senior middle school students using a bifactor modeling approach. To do so, we first assessed and compared four alternative measurement models including CFA, bifactor CFA, ESEM, and bifactor ESEM models. Among these models, CFA exhibited the poorest fit to the data collected from the sample. ESEM showed partial fit to the data with a slightly lower factor correlation between two components of L2 grit (i.e., perseverance of effort and consistency of interest) than CFA. Two bifactor models (bifactor CFA and bifactor ESEM) demonstrated excellent fits to the data. The more parsimonious bifactor CFA model was selected as the optimal one. Based on the bifactor CFA model, we confirmed measurement invariance across gender and predictive validity of L2 grit on subsequent language achievements. Based on these findings, methodological and pedagogical implications were discussed.

Using a bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling framework to examine the factor structure of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21.

This study proposed an improved representation of the DASS-21 factor structure developed by Lovibond and Lovibond in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335-342 (1995) using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (bifactor ESEM). This research was conducted by reference to 521 Turkish adults (45.3% females; M age = 27.86, SD = 8.23). The bifactor ESEM findings indicated a strong general factor of negative affect underlying responses to all DASS-21 items but also that despite the presence of three specific factors (depression, anxiety, and stress), the depression subscale explained a high degree of variance and could be considered to constitute a specific factor. The results obtained from this study show that there is a common factor associated with DASS-21 scales, the total score of DASS-21 can be identified as a measure of general negative affect, and the bifactor ESEM structure of DASS-21 ensures measurement invariance across genders.

Psychometric Properties of the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) in Chilean Youth.

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI)-3 test to evaluate eating disorders in young Chilean population. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,091 Chilean adolescents and young people (i.e., 476 men and 615 women) between 15 and 28 years old, from the metropolitan region, and four regions from the coast and south-central zone of the country. The reliability and factorial structure of the instrument were analyzed, replicating the confirmatory factor analyses of Brookings et al. (2020), evaluating four additional models that included bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), bifactor, and two-bifactor. Results: A majority of the subscales presented alphas and omegas equal to or greater than 0.70, with the exception of asceticism (α = 0.543, ω = 0.552) and interpersonal alienation (α = 0.684, ω = 0.695) scales, which are consistent with the values of the Spanish and Mexican non-clinical samples. The best fit indices were obtained by the ESEM two-bifactor model, with twelve specific factors corresponding to the EDI-3 subscales and two general orthogonal factors (i.e., risk subscales and psychological subscales), consistently with the theoretical basis.

Construct Validation of Self-Determination Theory in Second Language Scale: The Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

The present study aimed to assess the construct validity of the Self-Determination Theory in Second Language Scale (SDT-L2; Alamer, 2021). The study involved 266 undergraduate students learning English as a second language (L2) in Saudi Arabia. The factorial structure of the SDT-L2 was examined using the advanced bifactor-Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) method. The scale provided adequate composite reliability and the bifactor ESEM provided unique details about the multidimensionality of the scale which accounted for the specific constructs (i.e., intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulations) and the general constructs (i.e., autonomous motivation and controlled motivation), and allowed for assessment of convergent and discriminant validity. Predictive validity was established by showing that autonomous motivation significantly predicted L2 performance, while controlled motivation did not. Overall, the study demonstrated the usefulness of the bifactor ESEM for construct validation purposes and the results showed that SDT-L2 is a valid scale to assess students' L2 motivation based on SDT perspective.

Is Self-Compassion Universal? Support for the Measurement Invariance of the Self-Compassion Scale Across Populations.

The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is a widely used measure to assess the trait of self-compassion, and, so far, it has been implicitly assumed that it functions the same way across different groups. This assumption needs to be explicitly tested to ascertain that no measurement biases exist. To address this issue, the present study sought to systematically examine the generalizability of the bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling operationalization of the SCS via tests of measurement invariance across a wide range of populations, varying according to features such as student or community status, gender, age, and language. Secondary data were used for this purpose and included a total of 18 samples and 12 different languages (N = 10,997). Multigroup analyses revealed evidence for the configural, weak, strong, strict, and latent variance-covariance of the bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling operationalization of the SCS across different groups. These findings suggest that the SCS provides an assessment of self-compassion that is psychometrically equivalent across groups. However, findings comparing latent mean invariance found that levels of self-compassion differed across groups.

Psychological and relational conditions for job crafting to occur.

This study aimed to provide a wider understanding of the determinants of job crafting by jointly considering employee well- and ill-being (work engagement and exhaustion) and socio-environmental factors (supervisor and colleague support) as possible levers to promote job crafting. A secondary goal of this research was to simultaneously explore the multidimensionality of work engagement and the potentially differentiated associations between the different facets of work engagement and job crafting behaviours. Questionnaire surveys were collected among 533 workers from various organizations located in France. Results from preliminary analyses showed the superiority of a Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (B-ESEM) representation of work engagement when compared to alternative representations of ratings of this multidimensional construct. Specifically, employees' ratings of work engagement simultaneously reflected a global work engagement construct, which co-existed with specific vigor, dedication and absorption components. Results from a predictive model indicated that the different facets of work engagement held differentiated relations with job crafting behaviours, while exhaustion did not significantly relate to any job crafting behaviours. Colleague and supervisor support also held differentiated relations with the demands-related job crafting behaviours, while both forms of support were associated with employees' seeking more job resources. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Validation of the French Psychological Capital Questionnaire (F-PCQ-24) and its measurement invariance using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling framework.

The general purpose of this study was to validate the French Psychological Capital Questionnaire (F-PCQ-24) in a French Air Force sample (N = 3,665). One specific aim was to verify what the best measurement model is for PsyCap, notably by using Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (B-ESEM). Another specific aim was to examine the measurement invariance of the best fitting model for the F-PCQ-24 across gender, rank and tenure. Results supported the superiority of the B-ESEM model of PsyCap with the hope dimension divided into its two components (will-power and way-power). Moreover, multi-group confirmatory factor analyses indicated the measurement invariance of F-PCQ-24 for gender and tenure, while there was a small problem with measurement invariance for rank. Overall, these findings confirm that the F-PCQ-24 is a stable measure of PsyCap and support previous theoretical considerations that PsyCap is a core construct. Implications of these findings, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Longitudinal Sport Motivation Among Young Athletes in Intensive Training Settings: Using Methodological Advances to Explore Temporal Structure of Youth Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire Scores.

This study aimed to examine the factor structure, the simplex structure, and the self-determination continuum of the Youth Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (YBRSQ); to test longitudinal invariance of the YBRSQ and to examine differential item functioning in the YBRSQ responses as a function of sex, type of sport, and competitive level; and to explore the dynamics of change and stability of motivational regulation across the competitive season in a sample of 736 adolescent athletes involved in intensive training settings across 3 measurement points (beginning, middle, and end). Results provided evidence of a simplex structure of YBRSQ scores and revealed differences between self-determination-theory-based measures of motivation in various contexts. Results revealed partial strict temporal invariance of the YBRSQ and did not reveal differential item functioning. Finally, the results demonstrated an increase in amotivation and external regulation and a decrease in intrinsic motivation across the season, probably because of daily pressures.